IPL 2021: SWOT Analysis of Rajasthan Royals (RR)

The Rajasthan Royals were the inaugural champions of the Indian Premier League. Unfortunately, the Royals have not been able to win their second title despite performing well in some seasons. Last year, the Jaipur-based franchise finished at the last position on the points table for the first time in IPL history.

The Rajasthan team management was naturally unhappy after the squad’s disappointing performance in IPL 2020. Although the Royals had their star players available, they could not qualify for the playoffs. Steve Smith lost his contract, while multiple Indian pacers returned to the auction pool.

The Royals entered the auction with a massive purse value of 37.85 crore. They splurged 16.25 crore to acquire Chris Morris. Apart from that, the team also added Mustafizur Rahman and Liam Livingstone to their overseas department.

Rajasthan Royals squad for IPL 2021:

Sanju Samson (c & wk), Jos Buttler (wk), Ben Stokes, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Manan Vohra, Anuj Rawat, Riyan Parag, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Mahipal Lomror, Shreyas Gopal, Mayank Markande, Jofra Archer, Andrew Tye, Jaydev Unadkat, Kartik Tyagi, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya, KC Cariappa, Liam Livingstone, Kuldip Yadav, Akash Singh

Purse Remaining – 13.65 Crore

IPL 2021: SWOT Analysis of Rajasthan Royals (RR)

Strengths – Multiple match-winners in the batting unit

The Rajasthan Royals have assembled an explosive batting lineup that can blow away the world’s best bowling lineups. Sanju Samson and Manan Vohra have enormous IPL experience under their belts. Yashasvi Jaiswal has won matches for the India U-19 team in the early days of his career.

Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler have single-handedly won matches for the Rajasthan Royals before. Chris Morris can turn the game upside down with some big shots in the slog overs. Last year, Jofra Archer and Rahul Tewatia showed how they can win matches for the Royals.

Riyan Parag has experience of two IPL seasons. The young Indian all-rounder is likely to perform better than IPL 2020 this year. Liam Livingstone is a T20 specialist and Shivam Dube has played a few game-changing knocks in the domestic circuit. Lastly, even David Miller can play the finisher’s role to perfection for the Rajasthan Royals. Thus, having multiple match-winners in the batting unit will benefit the Royals a lot.

Weaknesses – Lack of support for Jofra Archer in the pace-bowling attack

Jofra Archer was the Most Valuable Player of IPL 2020. Still, the Rajasthan Royals ended at the last position on the standings. The reason behind that was that the Indian pacers of the Royals squad could not match the expectations. The Jaipur-based franchise has shown immense faith in Jaydev Unadkat. However, the left-arm pacer is yet to perform consistently for the Royals.

Talking about the other options with the Rajasthan Royals, Chris Morris is an injury-prone player. He could pick injuries which might limit his appearances for the franchise. The team management has also clarified that Ben Stokes would not bowl much in IPL 2021.

Recently, Mustafizur Rahman stated that he would play for Bangladesh in the Test series against Sri Lanka if the selectors name him in the squad. So, it will be interesting to see if Rahman turns up for the Royals in IPL 2021. Kartik Tyagi and Akash Singh are still learning, while Andrew Tye has lost his golden touch. Chetan Sakariya could be a great option, but he will be playing his debut season in 2021. So, the lack of proper support for Jofra Archer remains a weakness of RR even in IPL 2021.

Opportunities – Time for Shivam Dube to showcase his talent

The Rajasthan Royals have added all-rounder Shivam Dube to their squad ahead of IPL 2021. Dube previously played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Although the Bangalore-based franchise gave him many chances to establish himself as a match-winner, Dube could not cement his place in the team.

As a result, the Royal Challengers released him after IPL 2020. This year, most matches will likely happen in Mumbai. Shivam Dube has played a lot of games at the reported venues for IPL 2021. So, the upcoming season is a golden chance for Dube to silence his critics.

The Rajasthan Royals will most probably include him in their playing XI for the first few matches. Shivam Dube’s performance in the first few games will determine his place in the match squad. Since RR needs supporting options for Jofra Archer as well, Dube can even get more opportunities with the ball in IPL 2021.

Threats – Over-reliance on foreign players and inexperienced captain

There are two significant threats to the Rajasthan Royals’ chances of securing their second IPL title in 2021. The first threat is their over-reliance on the overseas cricketers. Sanju Samson and Rahul Tewatia are the only two Indian players who have been a part of the Indian T20I squad in recent matches.

There are many uncapped Indian players in the Royals squad. On the other side, the foreign players are much experienced and have been a part of the IPL for quite some time. Thus, the Jaipur-based franchise will tend to rely more on their four foreigners in the playing XI.

Sanju Samson will captain the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2021. It is the first time Samson will lead an IPL team in his career. While Sanju has captained Kerala in the domestic circuit, skippering an IPL franchise will be a totally different challenge. Last year, the fans saw how the Punjab Kings faltered in the first half of IPL 2020 after appointing KL Rahul as their new captain. While the trick to appoint a new leader could work wonders for RR, there always remains a threat of inexperience.